How to Help (and Not Just Cope) When Your Hotel Isn’t Vegan

The following article was written in partnership with Hotel Acacias, our accommodation choice in Lloret de Mar during our attendance at TBEX Europe 2015. All opinions are our own, formed after several meals of filling vegan food.

Spain attracts people from across the world for lengthy summer holidays – chiefly for the sun, but also for the food. Olives, cheeses, and jamon are the largest attraction – but about people who are vegan? Can they cope in Spain?

Yes – with a little preparation and a couple of emails.

Eight Days in Lloret de Mar for TBEX

For the travel bloggers conference, TBEX, we decided that to get the most out of our time in Costa Brava we’d need more than the weekend of the conference, and that would involve a few extra days of accommodation.

We wanted to find somewhere in which we could obviously feel comfortable, yet also a have a place in which to do the last minute preparation needed for the conference. Having the facilities available to cater to our vegan diet was also a large contributor to our decision making too, so with that in mind we got talking with some friends who put us in contact with a hotel in Lloret. Apparently they’d be more than happy to discuss with us not only how to accommodate us as vegans, but to put in to practice what they learn for their future vegan clients.

Over the course of a few emails we came to the conclusion that in order to be able to cope in a country where fish, meat, and dairy are traditionally a large part of the diet; it was mutually beneficial for us to help them whilst they kept us fed in return.

After eight days of great vegan food, we can both declare it a fun success.

It’s our believe that by a little simple communication there’s no stopping any hotel from understanding how to better cater for the vegan lifestyle, and not just at a catering level.

From animal-testing free cosmetics, to the omission of animal-based products in both the bedding and room furniture; for every non-vegan item there’s generally a locally sourced and eco alternative just waiting to be found.

How To Help Your Hotel Understand Veganism

The first key to understanding anything is the discovery of information. For us to learn, first we must read, listen, and review.

For Hotel Acacias there was already a little understanding of the importance of replacements and the separation of certain foods due to their accommodating someone with gluten-free needs previously, so to expand further on what we could and couldn’t eat or use we sent along a little email of the most common ‘Do’s and Don’ts‘.

Hi Xavier…

Here is a list of what we can and cannot eat as vegans:

We cannot eat:

Butter or cream

Eggs

Cheese from cows or goats, or any other animal

Milk from cows or goats, or any other animal

Meat, poultry, lamb, or beef, or any other animal

Fish, shellfish, shrimp, or lobster, anchovies

Gelatin

Honey

We can eat:

All fruits

All vegetables

All herbs and spices

Beans

Soy-based protein like tofu and tempeh

Grains

Pasta (that’s not made from eggs)

Olive oil

Milk alternatives such as soya milk, almond milk, oat milk

I hope the above list is useful to you 🙂

As it transpired, it was really useful for them when they came to start planning out what food they needed to order in prior to our arrival, with tofu being one of the few items they’d never once ordered in before.

With a little simple communication we were able to aid their brainstorming and exploration of their own personal favourite recipes to find something special for us – but there’s more you can do here to help the process.

Takeaway – Before arrival, send a simplified printable list of what you can and cannot eat. The chef can print this and keep it at hand for every meal preparation.

Suggest Recipes, But Express A Desire For Traditional Favourites

Franca in particular has been keen from the moment we went vegan in 2014 to discover local culinary dishes that are ‘accidentally‘ vegan. By asking locals or by doing a little online research beforehand, Franca loves to find traditional local recipes that don’t contain any of the products we omit, purely because the recipe was created without them.

During our ongoing conversation with the hotel prior to our arrival we expressed an interest in trying any, or all local recipes that fit with our listed criteria of foods we can and cannot eat. We would have been happy to send along a couple of our favourite simple vegan recipes to use should they be hitting a brick wall at any point, however we were reassured that it wouldn’t be necessary.

Takeaway – Offer to email a handful of your favourite vegan recipes as an example of what delicious creations can be created, or to be used as a backup, but always press for traditional recipes if possible.

Meet With The Chef When You Arrive

Once checked in and after a little relaxation in our rooms we made our way to the dining room to discover what we’d be enjoying over the next week. The buffet we found was quite typical for Spain and included several meat cuts and plenty of fresh fish from the sea outside the front door, but between it all were a number of options for us both.

But that wasn’t everything.

In fact, especially for us the chef had prepared a vegan-friendly dish of his own creation for us to enjoy during lunch.

We were both blushing with appreciation.

Whilst in some high street restaurants we may be fortunate enough to have a meal made especially for us, we assumed that during the buffet offered at Hotel Acacias the easiest choice for the catering staff would be to make a couple of items on the hot plate vegan-friendly by default. Having someone bring out a large plate of food for the two of us was not what we’d expected.

By talking before hand and meeting with the chef when you arrive you can really break down veganism into really easy to digest facts and ideas that a chef can transform into spectacular dishes. In fact, we’ve spoken with and heard of so many chefs who actually enjoy the challenge to their culinary skills that veganism and other diets present to them.

It brings out the inner master. It provokes them to try flavours and ingredients they might not ever get to use with their typical weekly spread – and for chefs who aren’t fortunate enough to get to choose what they cook each week, the sudden break from routine can be quite refreshing.

Talking – as ever – builds many bridges between people and their differences. We may be vegan and they may be a carnivore; but through conversation and the sharing of knowledge there’s no reason that something exciting and delicious to eat can’t be created.

Takeaway – Meet with the chef when you arrive and see if you can’t further help them to create new recipes. They may enjoy the challenge.

Be Thankful For Every Bite

Every time we returned to the dining room either for lunch or for dinner a smiling face would greet us, followed swiftly by another great vegan creation by a chef who became more experimental by the day.

Every plate surpassing his last.

Together with our friends and fellow customers of Acacias, Nomad Is Beautiful and The Crowded Planet, we’d spend hours talking whilst devouring plate after refilled plate of great food that we were always happy to share with our companions – some of whom were happy to go "vegan for the day" if it meant sharing the food too.

All of us were happy with the food, but we were especially happy with the people serving it.

Franca sharing vegan paella with Ivana of Nomad Is Beautiful

The family and staff who keep Hotel Acacias running are the entire reason that we spent most of our time relaxing in the hotel and not out walking along the beach in Lloret, or walking one of the several coastal paths that start nearby.

Everyone smiles, and not because they have to.

The family that owns Hotel Acacias has only been running it themselves since the Christmas holidays and you can tell that everything they do, they do it because they love to. It gives them kicks. It puts a smile on their face so large that you can’t help but reflect it back with your own. It makes them happy to see you happy, and there’s nothing they won’t do to ensure that smile remains on your face during your entire stay.

"Sure,", you’re thinking, "isn’t every hotel owner trying to do the same?"; and you’re not wrong.

Yes, of course every hotel wants to ensure that their customers have a great time and go on to recommend them further; but it’s not always the case.

It’s a cold hard fact, but sometimes you’re a number on a receipt. It’s understandable. Business is business – but it doesn’t always have to be that way, just as Monica and Enric and their team have gone to great lengths to demonstrate.

Their attention to our wants and needs made us feel more like friends and less like clients. Thanking them for every effort they collectively went to for us was the least we could do.

Takeaway – Be thankful for every effort made. Thank the chef personally. Thank the kitchen staff, the waiters. Everyone. It leaves a lasting impression of who vegans really are.

A huge thanks to Monica & Enric of Hotel Acacias

Communication Is Everything

From our first email to our final "Adios!", communication has been the cornerstone of what turned out to be a fantastic vegan experience, all thanks to a little forethought before hand to type a couple of quick emails.

Of course, nothing compares to the progress you can make whilst talking and sharing ideas with people in person, but the few minutes we found before our trip to discuss our arrival before hand had immediate effects when we arrived, and hopefully long-term effects for the next vegan to pass through the doors of our new favourite hotel in Lloret de Mar.

Before your next vegan vacation take two minutes to find the email address of the hotel manager and write them a short note about your stay. Explain everything as we’ve mentioned here and be the best example of a vegan you can be. The impression you make goes a long way to helping more hotels to be vegan-friendly in the future.

Fingers crossed at the next hotel you book, you’ll not just cope, you’ll be helping yourself to plate after plate of delicious vegan food without any communication needed at all.

Have you had a great vegan hotel experience?

28 Comments

Great job you did there! As you say, in most of the cases it´s about a lack of knowledge. The curiosity and willingness to learn is usually there and communication is then key. In Spain vegetarianism (not to mention veganism) is still not much spread, but the trend is positive! In several occasions I have been served a “vegetarian salad” and found little pieces of ham in it. When I ask what they are doing in the salad, I get the answer: “But it´s HAM. It is not MEAT. And I put just a little bit … ” 🙂
As a tip to anyone travelling to the Costa Brava, I can recommend the hotel in which I am working, the Hotel Sant Pere del Bosc. The chef prepares awesome vegetarian and vegan gourmet menues and the presentations are beautiful 😉Kristin Ehrenborg recently posted…Escapada Romántica en Sant Pere del Bosc Hotel & Spa

Love your simple list, great idea to mail this across, for us communicating with the hotel in advance is essential, it gives them time to prepare for your arrival and also chance to ask any questions and clarify that they understand what is required…..

‘Accidentally vegan’ dishes (well, vegetarian for me) are some of my favorite discoveries while traveling. Sometimes it’s so easy to lean on the old standbys, but often it’s worth seeking out something new & potentially amazing!Polly recently posted…Copper Fox Distillery

Totally. Having the standbys is great because for the most part we can find simple ingredients almost any where, but having something new and local to try is all the more interesting 🙂Dale recently posted…Should We Avoid Travel To Controversial Countries?

Totally agree with your tips! Communication about our vegan lifestyle is key to a successful hotel stay and we’ve found that lots of people who work in places we’ve stayed enjoy learning about what their customers want. We’ve developed some training for hotel staff too and it was great to get all the key people in one room and talk about how to best serve vegan guests (especially when the Manager emailed back to say their next visit from vegans was a complete success because the staff felt confident in helping them!)

I always think that the sign of a good chef is one who loves the creative challenge of cooking outside of their comfort zone – we’ve had some amazing meals from chefs who have embraced the challenge and gone all out to impress us whether it was a 9 course Italian tasting menu in Singapore, a vegan chocolate and ganache layer cake with popping candy in Malaysia or a showcase of veganised local foods in Sri Lanka – we’ve loved being experimented on!

Yum yum yum!! All this food look delicious!! I love vegetarian/vegan cooking for two reasons; firstly, I don’t need to worry if it’s halal or not. But secondly, it’s so damn delicious, and appetising – colourful and healthy!

Great post – I think a lot of the concerns people have about requesting special meals is related to if they are rejected or judged according to it, but as you mention, people are often very happy to oblige!

Exactly. For a lot of people it’s actually a fun exercise that breaks the routine a little.

I like to imagine a chef as a painter. For perhaps a couple of months they’ve been painting the same way, the same style; suddenly they see someone else’s are and find inspiration to change things up, to try a different style. What they create is an inspired masterpiece, except this one I can eat.Dale recently posted…More Than Just Haggis – Vegan Restaurants in Glasgow

Yay what great tips for vegan travellers! We will definitely use this when we get to a country where English is sort of understood haha. And the food looks SO good. You made us hungry! 🙂Laura + Will @ Bottled Air recently posted…Cycling to India: The “Plan” and preparations

Practical tips guys and I like the emphasis on leaving a good impression of who vegans are! I’m primarily vegetarian (and often, but certainly not always, vegan), but this was still very useful. I like how gently but clearly you guys presented your requests, and even better that they were so accommodating (the chefs probably had fun with it, too!). 🙂

I think the chefs had a great time cooking our food! The main chef was an absolute pleasure to meet with.

I hope that as we continue to do this going forward it has a long and lasting effect. If other people also read this and begin to do the same, the sooner the world will turn around to being more accommodating – and hopefully through that – more welcoming of a vegan lifestyle.Dale recently posted…Should We Avoid Travel To Controversial Countries?

It’s a great way to address the accessibility for all travellers- by working with the hotel to find a solution from the start, people are engaged to see you as people rather than just ‘annoying vegans’. It would be great if all vegans did this, rather than turn up to eateries and expect accommodations without notice.Cate recently posted…Allotment gardens and foraging in Berlin

It’s amazing how accommodating they were – just shows how deeply they care for the people who stay there! These are great tips to have when approaching establishments with dietary requests – I’ve never really thought about doing this before and will definitely think about this for the future. A lot of times the owners aren’t familiar with veganism, but they are interested in knowing because they do want to help their current & future clients. Thanks for the great article, guys!Lauren recently posted…Our Flight to Italy: A Review of Air Transat with Vegan Meals

We’re always been sure to enquire with out hotel or hostel before we book it if it’s vegan-friendly or not, but this was the first time in which we set out to see if there was a mutual way in which we could help each other.

We’ve (hopefully) helped them to prepare for the arrival of more vegans in Lloret de Mar, whilst they helped us to stay stuffed from the first day we arrived.

I’ve never thought of doing this, which probably sounds weird since I’m a vegan and a traveller. Usually, we search out whatever vegan restaurants we can nearby and totally skip the hotel food. But, if I ever find myself heading somewhere for a long stay, I will definitely reach out ahead of time and offer help.

Our best vegan hotel experience was in Rome at The Beehive Hostel. They offer veggie breakfast with vegan options and a vegan buffet one night per week.

Strangely enough you’re not the first person to mention The Beehive Hostel a few times and we’ve been meaning to visit for a while. Hopefully on our next visit to Rome they’ll have a room free for us, but we expect every room to already be booked for the vegan food 😛

We’re the same too. We will always search out vegan restaurants nearby, but if there’s an occasion where a hotel is all inclusive and we’re already going to be staying there, there’s no harm in seeing what help we can offer each other.Dale recently posted…Tofu ‘n’ Chips – Our Search for Vegan Restaurants in Brighton

Wow, how accommodating were those guys! I’m impressed 😮
All of that food looks delicious and so great that people are open-minded and willing to try out new things!Charlie recently posted…What I Learned from a Guatemalan Cooking Class

Thanks Natasha. The paella was amazing, and enormous too. We split it between the three of us and there was still some left over. Some how in the end we did manage to squeeze in another plate or two, but the flavour was worth the feeling that we were going to burst!Dale recently posted…More Than Just Haggis – Vegan Restaurants in Glasgow